We know that email is an affordable way of delivering personal, timely and relevant information to your members.  And, some email services go even further and help you measure open rates, click-throughs and forwards.  But, are you taking all the precautions you need to ensure you can continue to deliver messages to your members via email?

First, are your members’ email addresses exposed on your website? Can a site visitor copy your members’ addresses and send them spam?  What happens when they get so much spam and other email at that address that your messages can’t get through the clutter?  You can still provide exposure for your members in your directory and allow site visitors to contact them, but why not use a form or other method that hides the email address from the site visitor?  This allows potential customers to contact them, but keeps their address safe.

Second, are you getting your members’ permission to send them email on various topics?  If you are sending them information that they don’t want, will they be reading when you send them the messages they do want?  Will you be able to effectively engage them using email?

Consider this:  What if you needed to communicate all the things you send via email by some other form of communication?   Could you print and mail letters to your members each week or each month to replace your email newsletter?   Could you drive to each member’s business and talk with them once a month?  

Email has become the main relationship management tool for many chambers of commerce and membership organizations – for all kinds of businesses, actually.  So, get email addresses from your members so you can provide them with relevant information that they want to receive.  But, protect your member’s email addresses and send them only the information that they want. 

If your members stop reading because they are getting too much spam or because you send them irrelevant information, how likely are they going to be to renew their membership?  How will you be able to manage your relationship and demonstrate the value your organization is providing without using email?   Yes, there are other social media available, but to provide truly personal communications, email is still king. 

What would it cost you to maintain the relationships with your members in the manner than using email allows?   Could you even get 10% of the effectiveness of email using other methods?   How much is each member’s email address worth to you?  $500 a year?  $1,000?  More?